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The Financial Diaries

Podcast

May 30, 2017

The traditional narrative of the American Dream — hard work, steady saving, and a little bit of luck will to security today and mobility tomorrow — has all but become an American Myth.

Today, insecurity is so pronounced that 92 percent of Americans, when asked to choose between being a little richer or more financially stable, chose stability. But amidst 30 years of wage stagnation and radically decreased mobility, neither has been attainable.

In The Financial Diaries, authors Jonathan Morduch and Rachel Schneider tracked the financial lives of 235 low- and middle-income households to cast light on the pervasive economic anxiety felt across the country. The individuals they profile — among them a casino dealer, a street vendor, and a tax preparer — challenge popular assumptions about how Americans earn, spend, borrow, and save and suggest new tools the U.S. needs to correct the broader distress of income and wealth inequality.

On May 23, 2017, New America NYC and Family-Centered Social Policy hosted a conversation on the growing financial instability Americans face and the policy interventions needed to better support those who need it most.

OPENING REMARKS:

PARTICIPANTS

Jonathan Morduch @JMorduchProfessor of Public Policy and Economics and Director, Financial Access Initiative, New York UniversityCo-author, The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty

Rachel Schneider @RachelSchneiderSenior Vice President, Center for Financial Services InnovationCo-author, The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty